No Strings... (13 page)

Jesus, he was such an ass, and Aiden was certain his brother Sam would heartily agree with that sentiment. If he could turn back the clock and do things differently, he would, but trapped between the island and Boston while waiting for his flight, without any cell service to the island, there was nothing he could do about his stupidity.

Knowing he had no choice but to wait and deal with Chloe and the situation until they were both back in Boston, he decided he needed to keep himself distracted, or let his thoughts drive him crazy. Deciding to use his idle time to refine his presentation, he retrieved his computer from his leather attaché. While his laptop booted up, he reached into the front pocket of his briefcase for the flash drive with his PowerPoint presentation, but it wasn’t there. Frowning, he thought back to when he last remembered having it, and his stomach churned with apprehension when he realized he’d never gotten it back from Chloe.

He didn’t believe she’d deliberately kept it from him, and it wasn’t as though he didn’t have a back-up on his laptop’s hard drive, but he couldn’t stop the niggle of unease coursing through him. He knew how much securing this campaign meant to her—just as much as it meant to him, and he wanted to trust her but...

He shook his head of those negative, cynical thoughts before they could completely form. She’d never do that to him. Then again, hadn’t he thought the same of his ex-wife?

No.
He wasn’t going to go there. He had to believe she wouldn’t betray him that way. Besides, what was Chloe going to do with his presentation in a day’s time? They were due in the office tomorrow morning, and he’d get the flash drive back then. No harm. No foul.

* * *

H
EART
PUMPING
WITH
adrenaline, Chloe rushed back to her hotel room, knowing she had a limited amount of time to change into something more professional than her casual sundress, and gather up what she needed to give Edward Luca the best, most cohesive presentation possible with such short notice. Most of her concept was laid out, but she still hadn’t come up with a catchy tagline that the resort could use in their advertising and branding. She thought she’d have more time to figure out a slogan, but she was just going to have to wing it. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time for that.

Feeling frantic because the clock was ticking, she found a simple black dress that she hadn’t worn yet and hastily slipped it on, and added a pair of red pumps. The pop of color gave her a boost of confidence, yet kept her overall appearance classy and sophisticated. Quickly, she pulled her hair into a sleek ponytail, then focused on the material she needed to take with her for this very impromptu meeting.

As she fired up her laptop to make sure that her PowerPoint slides were as clean as possible, she couldn’t stop the frustration making its way to the surface. God, she wished that Aiden was still here on the island, that he hadn’t left on the morning flight out. Even though they had separate campaigns and ideas to offer, this was something they should be doing
together,
but he’d left her with no choice but to go it alone.

Then she remembered she still had his flash drive with his matchmaking concept on it and experienced a swell of relief. If Aiden couldn’t be here, at least she’d be able to pitch his presentation, too, and that’s all that mattered—that the two of them got a fair shot at the campaign.

She gathered up her laptop and retrieved Aiden’s flash drive and made her way down to conference room C. The door was already closed, and she heard male voices from inside, indicating that the boys were already presenting their campaign ideas to Luca.

She paced the carpeted floor in the hallway, tension tightening across her chest. She didn’t usually get nervous before a meeting, but she and Aiden each had so much riding on this deal. She didn’t want to blow it for either one of them. Knowing she had to shake off her anxiety, and fast, she leaned back against the nearest wall, closed her eyes, and took the Zen approach. She inhaled deep, tranquil breaths, until a peaceful calm cleared her mind and relaxed her body.

She could do this, she told herself, feeling more in control and focused. She loved to pitch to clients, and she was damn good at it. Today would be no different.

After a short while the door opened, and Edward’s voice drifted out into the hallway as he spoke, “I do have to say, your advertising and marketing ideas are solid.” Chloe smiled to herself, knowing she and Aiden were still in the game.

She’d been an ad executive long enough to know when a client used a bland word like
solid
to describe a marketing approach, they were being more diplomatic than complimentary. Edward hadn’t been all that impressed by what he’d seen. If he had used terms such as unique or innovative, Chloe might have had a cause for concern, but his lack of any obvious enthusiasm filled her with a much needed surge of confidence.

Darryl and Ken strolled out of the room first, both of them wearing smug expressions...until they saw her standing there in the hallway, her laptop tucked under her arm, ready to present her campaign, too. She wanted to laugh at the shocked,
oh shit
looks on their faces, but managed to maintain her composure.

“Darryl. Ken,” she acknowledged politely. “Mr. Luca, I’d also like the chance to pitch our company’s campaign ideas today.”

Edward arched a brow, amusement in his eyes. “By all means, come inside,” he said, motioning for her to enter the conference room.

She walked inside, and he closed the door securely after her, watching as she set her laptop on the table and turned it on. He was dressed casually in a pair of khaki pants and a collared shirt, and she had to admit that for a man in his late fifties he was very good-looking. His hair was still thick and dark, though there was some silver at the temples that gave him a distinguished appearance. His body was still trim, his skin tanned, and there was a charm about him that put her at ease.

“You came prepared.” He sat down in a nearby chair, then tipped his head curiously. “How did you know that the other agency was presenting their campaign?”

“I overheard them speaking with you down in the lobby, being more than a little insistent about pitching their presentation to you today,” she replied honestly as she prepared her PowerPoint slides. “I wasn’t about to leave the island without you seeing our campaign ideas, too.”

He leaned back in his seat, admiration flickering in his gaze. “I have a lot of respect for a woman with such determination and fortitude.”

She accepted his praise with a smile. “Oh, I have plenty of that, Mr. Luca.”

“Where is Aiden?” Edward asked. “Shouldn’t he be here, as well?”

Yes, he should have been there, but she’d never throw her partner under the bus for her own personal gain. Yes, she wanted this account badly, but she just didn’t operate that way. She’d cover for him the best she could. “He had to leave the island early this morning.”

“I hope everything is okay?” Edward asked, clearly concerned.

“Yes, everything is fine.” She didn’t offer details, because they weren’t necessary. Besides, she wasn’t about to share the real reason why Aiden had left...
her.
“In fact, I have his presentation with me, which is a different concept than my own, so I’m all set.”

Edward gave an approving nod. “Excellent. Let’s see what you’ve come up with.”

She remained standing and positioned the laptop so that it faced Edward, but she could see the screen, as well, and control the speed of the slide show as she added her commentary to the presentation. She clicked the start button, and the program began to play.

As the slides clicked from one to the other, providing Edward with visual pictures of the resort, the island, the romantic aspects and her fun, sexy flash mob concept that conveyed personality and attitude, she explained the marketing strategies she had in mind, how she could boost their consumer visibility, and finished off her presentation with a memorable hook that would leave Edward wanting more.

“This campaign is all about finding love in paradise,” she said, and realized that she’d just discovered her tagline for the St. Raphael Resort. Even she was proof that it was possible, considering she’d fallen in love with Aiden, and she latched on to the slogan.

“Find Love in Paradise,” she said again as the slide show ended, this time giving the words more meaning and emotion, which was easy to do, since they came from her heart. “
That’s
what your guests can expect when they arrive at St. Raphael.”

Edward nodded thoughtfully. “I like it. It’s very current and contemporary, but still stays true to the St. Raphael goal of making sure that everyone finds love...in paradise,” he said, as if testing the slogan she’d come up with. He smiled, his eyes alight with enthusiasm, and she knew she’d definitely captivated him with her ideas.

She plugged in Aiden’s flash drive and switched out her slide show for his, and continued the presentation with seamless ease. “The flash mob concept is certainly more modern, but Aiden has taken a more traditional approach with his campaign. Guests are still exposed to many romantic elements, but the one thing you could use as a draw is Hattie, your island matchmaker.”

He frowned in confusion. “Hattie? She’s just an old woman who enjoys tending to her exotic flowers and visiting with the guests.”

The man had no idea just how valuable Hattie was to him, and the resort, and Chloe planned to enlighten him. “Oh, she’s much more than that, Mr. Luca. She comes from a long line of matchmakers, and she’s an untapped source that could elevate this resort’s reputation. Take a look at this interview Aiden did with Hattie, and imagine the element of fantasy, romance and magic she could add to your campaign and advertising.”

She clicked the play button, and the interview streamed onto the computer. Edward watched the video with interest, and she could tell by the surprised look on his face that he was seeing Hattie’s potential, and all the ways they could utilize her as a draw to the island and resort.

As soon as the interview ended, she wrapped up the presentation with her closing statement. “Who else in this industry has an island matchmaker? Someone who intuitively knows if two people belong together and has a very high success rate of pairing up compatible couples, and uses an exotic flower to predict a couple’s fate? No one. And that gives you, and the St. Raphael resort, a competitive edge.”

He nodded in agreement. “It certainly does.”

She exhaled a deep breath, knowing she’d given her absolute best, to both campaigns. “So, there you go...an exciting, fun flash mob, or a traditional matchmaker. The choice is yours.”

“Both concepts are unique and innovative,” he said, making Chloe smile by his choice of words, which were music to her ears. “You’ve made it very difficult to choose just one.”

“Then I’ve done my job well,” she said as she powered down her laptop. She knew Edward wouldn’t give her an answer before she left, but she was confident that she’d engaged and captivated him more than the Metro boys had.

Now it was just a matter of which campaign Edward liked better...hers, or Aiden’s?

11

A
IDEN
HAD
BEEN
home from the airport for a few hours and had just finished his last load of laundry when his cell phone rang. He glanced at the display, surprised to see his boss’s cell number, especially since it was Sunday evening and Aiden was due back in the office in the morning.

He connected the call and answered. “Hey, Perry.”

“Aiden,” the older man said. “I just got a call from Edward Luca, the VP of the St. Raphael Resort. He told me that you had to leave the island early this morning. Is everything okay?”

Aiden inwardly cringed. Perry sounded more concerned than upset that he’d taken an earlier flight out, instead of the scheduled afternoon one, but Aiden wasn’t about to tell his boss the real reason why. “I had everything I needed for my campaign, and I had a family situation that needed my attention.” The little white lie was better than the truth...that he’d fallen in love with Chloe and didn’t know how to handle his feelings for her. God, he was pathetic.

“Well, I just heard from Luca,” Perry informed him enthusiastically. “Chloe pitched this brilliant concept this morning that would utilize a traditional matchmaker they have on the island. Luca loved the concept and is going with it!”

Perry went on, but the sudden ringing in Aiden’s ears prevented him from hearing anything else. His stomach churned, making him ill, and his head began to spin. Angry thoughts flashed through his mind, fast and furious. Chloe had pitched without him and behind his back? And Jesus, she’d actually used his concept to win over Luca and secure the account? Used it as her own idea and took credit for something he’d created?

He pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers, trying to see things another way, to think maybe he was wrong. But Perry himself had said,
Chloe pitched a brilliant concept using a traditional island matchmaker.
There was no other explanation.

How could a woman he thought he knew so well, a woman he’d trusted in so many ways, do something so unforgiveable? And how stupid was he for believing she was any different than Paige when it came to her career when he’d known all along how important climbing the corporate ladder was to Chloe?

After everything they’d shared, her betrayal cut deeper and sharper than a knife, and left him reeling with disbelief...yet there was no denying what Perry had just told him.

He shook his head hard, and forced himself to focus on what Perry was saying.

“...I haven’t had the chance to talk to Chloe yet,” his boss continued. “Luca told me that she missed the afternoon flight out because she’d been doing the presentation. He flew her out by private commuter plane, but chances are she missed her connecting flight in Nassau. I’ll just see the two of you in the office in the morning.”

“Uh, yeah, sure,” Aiden said, because he didn’t know what else to say. Besides, he was still trying to process the fact that Chloe had double-crossed him.

He disconnected the call and tossed his cell phone onto the counter. Frustration roiled through him. With no way to confront Chloe when she wasn’t back in Boston yet, his anger simmered all night long. By the time he arrived at the office in the morning, he was like a lit fuse waiting to explode.

* * *

A
FTER
ONLY
A
few hours of sleep in her own bed, Chloe’s alarm clock startled her awake. It took everything in her not to hit the snooze button and go back to sleep. Instead she dragged her tired body into the shower. Exhausted or not after her flight snafu yesterday that had finally gotten her back to Boston after midnight, she was expected in the office this morning.

She hadn’t had a chance to call Aiden, or talk to Perry about her spontaneous meeting yesterday with Edward Luca, and she needed to let them both know that she’d already pitched their ideas, and why. She still felt it had been the right thing to do, because there was no way she wanted the Metro boys to have any kind of leverage over her or Aiden.

A hot shower helped to clear her head, but she couldn’t shake the fatigue and jet lag weighing her down. She figured it would probably take a day or so for her body to readjust. Dressed in a leopard print A-line skirt, a black silk blouse and black heels, she grabbed her computer case and headed out the door. On the way to work, she picked up a large skinny vanilla latte with an extra shot of espresso, and made it to her office with minutes to spare, even after stopping to say a quick hello to Holly.

She’d just sat down and turned on her computer when she glanced up and saw Aiden heading toward her office, looking as gorgeous as ever in a charcoal-gray suit that fit his broad shoulders and lean frame to perfection. Memories of their time together, the intimate ones where they’d both been stripped bare, emotionally and physically, swamped her. There was no doubt that her feelings for this man had changed drastically during their time on the island, but she still had no idea where she stood with him, and she had to admit, it was a very vulnerable place to be.

His stride was purposeful, his body language tense, but it was the dark, angry look on his face that took her completely off guard. He entered her office, bringing with him a wave of foreboding that sent a chill up her spine...even though she didn’t know
why.

“Hi,” she said, and smiled at him, trying to act normal, as if their time on the island hadn’t changed anything between them when it came to working together. After all, that had been their promise—that what happened at the resort, stayed at the resort.

He didn’t return her greeting, or her smile. Instead, he braced his hands on the opposite side of her desk and leaned toward her, his expression furious. “Are you seriously going to sit there and act as though you didn’t screw me over?”

She jerked back, stunned by the bitterness dripping from his voice and the contempt in his gaze—as well as his abrasive, confusing question. “Excuse me?”

“Don’t play stupid with me,” he said, his voice a low, savage snarl. “You know exactly what I’m talking about. According to Perry, you pitched my goddamned matchmaking concept and won the St. Raphael account.”

Two things hit Chloe at once—the startling fact that Aiden already knew about her meeting with Edward Luca, and that Luca had already chosen Aiden’s campaign. On the heels of that knowledge came the more painful realization that Aiden had jumped to the automatic conclusion that she’d passed off his presentation as her own to
steal
the account from him.

A crushing pressure banded around her chest. She was devastated that he could so easily think the worst of her, that he honestly believed she’d betrayed him without giving her any opportunity to explain or defend herself against his harsh accusation.

A muscle in his jaw clenched, and his gaze narrowed. “Don’t you have anything to say for yourself?”

She pushed aside the pain enveloping her heart, and let her own anger surface. “Why should I?” she said with a shrug that seemed to piss him off even more, but she didn’t care. “You think you have it all figured out.”

He opened his mouth to say something, but a brusque knock on her office door, and the sound of Perry’s voice, stopped him before he could reply.

“Hey, you two,” Perry said in a cheerful tone, oblivious to the heated conversation he’d just interrupted. “I need to see both of you in my office right away.”

Perry moved on, and Aiden glared at her. “I guess we’ll settle this in Perry’s office.” He pushed off her desk and stalked down the hallway toward the executive rooms.

Chloe slowly stood up, realizing her legs were shaking as she followed Aiden from a distance. The emotions swirling through her ranged from devastation and hurt to indignation. But it was the latter that she focused on as she took a seat beside Aiden in Perry’s office.

Their boss looked from Aiden, to her, and frowned, finally sensing the animosity radiating off of Aiden. “Everything okay between you two?”

“No,” Aiden said immediately. “Just to be clear, the matchmaking concept that Luca wants for his campaign was
my
idea, not Chloe’s.”

Perry looked taken aback by Aiden’s very pointed claim. “When I called you last night, I never said it was Chloe’s idea,” Perry said carefully. “What I said was that Chloe pitched a matchmaking concept, Luca loved the idea, and is going with it.”

Aiden still didn’t look convinced, and it killed Chloe that he thought she was capable of doing something so deceitful, that after two years of working with her and spending a very intimate week together, he didn’t trust her to have his back. The conversation they’d had about his ex-wife came back to her, how the one woman who should have been the most loyal to Aiden had betrayed him and their marriage for the sake of career.

She understood that he’d been burned badly in the past, but the fact that Aiden had lumped her into the same category as his ex-wife wrecked her in ways that made her wonder if she’d ever recover. Chloe was the first to admit that she was competitive when it came to her job, but she wasn’t devious, underhanded or unscrupulous. She’d certainly never steal a concept or idea from a coworker to win an account.

Somehow, she managed to keep her own temper in check and addressed Perry. “I’d like to explain exactly what happened yesterday.”

Perry waved a hand in the air. “By all means, please do,” he said, obviously anxious to clear up the misunderstanding.

“Yesterday, I overheard the boys with the Metro Ad Agency, who were being very persistent about pitching to Luca before they left the island, even though Edward told them he had meetings with both agencies this week,” Chloe said, her tone calm and professional, despite the upheaval going on inside her. “Darryl assured him that their presentation was all Edward would need to see to make a final decision, so Luca gave them a meeting time. I decided to show up, too, because I wasn’t about to let another agency pull one over on us.”

The corner of Perry’s mouth quirked up in a smile, as if he admired her gumption as much as Edward had.

“I had Aiden’s flash drive with his presentation on it, because he’d shown me his campaign the day before and I forgot to give the drive back to him. But thank God I had it because I was not only able to pitch my own concept, but Aiden’s, too,
separately,
” she added, making sure that Aiden understood she’d presented his campaign with just as much dedication as her own.

Finally, she glanced at Aiden. She should have been gratified by the stunned look on his too handsome face as he realized what she’d done
for
him, but the moment lacked any enjoyment because her heart just felt utterly broken.

“And it appears I did a damned good job on your behalf, since obviously Luca liked your idea the best.
You
and your concept won the account, not me,” she said, her tone cool. “Congratulations.”

“Chloe—”

She’d never know what Aiden had been about to say as she stood up, refusing to acknowledge him.

“What’s going on with you two?” Perry asked.

Clearly, their boss suspected something had happened between them on the island. But what did any of that matter when she and Aiden were now adversaries? She’d not only lost Aiden as her lover, but as her friend. And that only compounded her devastation.

“If you’ll excuse me, I’d like to get back to my office,” she said, and walked out before her forced calm gave way to the full-blown anger still simmering inside her and she gave Aiden a real piece of her mind.

She strode into her office and sat down at her desk, watching as Aiden passed her office on the way to his. She tried to concentrate on answering the emails she’d gotten during her absence, but her mind wouldn’t let her focus—on work, anyway—and she knew there was something she had to do to begin to put this whole mess with Aiden behind her. She wasn’t sure if that was even possible, but she had to try. The hurt and resentment swirling inside her was only going to grow and get worse if she didn’t confront Aiden and get everything out in the open between them.

With determination and a whole lot of irritation driving her, she headed over to Aiden’s office and closed the door, because this was something she didn’t want the entire floor overhearing. Aiden glanced up, his features etched with misery and contrition. But for her it was too little, too late.

“Chloe—”

She heard the apologetic note to his voice, and refused to let it soften or waylay her. “No, you don’t get to talk,” she said, quickly cutting him off. “You had your chance and you chose to be an ass and make all kinds of wrong assumptions. Now it’s my turn to get a few things off my chest.”

He sat back in his chair, quiet and wary.

She braced her hands on the opposite side of his desk, just as he’d done in her office earlier. “I could have just pitched my own concept and never mentioned yours, but I don’t operate that way. We’ve always worked together, as partners, sharing ideas and concepts, and trusting one another. I’ve always been honest and real with you, and I’ve given you absolutely no reason to think I’d
ever
betray you.”

Emotion clogged her throat, making her realize that this conversation had just turned very personal. Now that the floodgates were open, she couldn’t stop the flow of words, or the overwhelming hurt she felt. “
You
left the island, Aiden. You left
me.
Without any kind of explanation. Like what we shared didn’t matter to you at all. Not just the sex, but the intimate conversations we had, the way I trusted you with things that had happened in my past. You made me care again when I swore I didn’t have it in me, and even worse, I fell in love with you.”

The declaration tumbled out, and his eyes widened in shock, then clouded with regret, though he didn’t respond—and she didn’t want him to, anyway.

“It doesn’t matter, though, does it?” she said, hating the pain and sadness in her voice. “Because when it comes right down to it, you don’t trust me. You think I’m so focused on my career that I’d do whatever it takes to make it to the top, even steal an idea from my own colleague. From
you.
You want to believe that we’re opposites and not compatible in any other way but in the bedroom, but you couldn’t be more wrong. We have a lot in common, Aiden, if you’d just seen past the scars that your ex-wife left you with, instead of dwelling on them. I love my job, but I’d never be so underhanded. And just for the record, I’d never sacrifice a baby for the sake of my career. I’m the kind of woman who believes she can have a marriage, family and a profession, so do
not
lump me into the same category as your ex.”